Submitted by Etelvina Domingos (etelvina.domingos@ufpe.br) on 2015-03-06T17:52:49Z No. of bitstreams: 2 tese_digital_iveslima.pdf: 1006004 bytes, checksum: ac61098b56ddbddb7ebe29a13f4edc2d (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-06T17:52:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 tese_digital_iveslima.pdf: 1006004 bytes, checksum: ac61098b56ddbddb7ebe29a13f4edc2d (MD5) license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / CAPES / Seja M uma matroide 3-conexa menor-minimal possuindo a matroide N como menor. Em 2003, Lemos e Oxley obtiveram uma estimativa para diferença |E(M) − E(N)| e mostraram que o resultado obtido é o melhor possível, quando o menor N é conexo. Nesta tese, mostramos que esta estimativa pode ser melhorada quando o menor N é uma matroide circular, desde que M não possua um menor isomorfo ao prisma.

The onset of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) will challenge water utilities to further reduce their wastewater phosphorus discharges to < 0.5 mg.L- 1. Whilst conventional treatments, such as chemical dosing, are able to meet these new discharge consents, the strategies are representative of a linear economy model where resources are unrecovered and disposed. An alternative solution which can contribute to the aspiration of a circular economy is microalgae. Microalgae are ubiquitous in wastewater environments and assimilate phosphorus during their growth, to residual concentrations complementary of the WFD. Furthermore, microalgal biomass can be anaerobically digested to produce biomethane offering the potential for an energy neutral approach. However, uptake of microalgal systems are lacking in the UK through limited knowledge of operation; and the belief that such solutions are synonymous to large, shallow open ponds with extensive treatment times. The development of alternative microalgal reactors are increasingly investigated to overcome these implementation challenges. Of these, immobilised microalgae has shown great potential; and whilst within its infancy demonstrates the greatest opportunity for development and optimisation. This thesis determines the critical operational parameters that influence the remediation efficacy of immobilised microalgae for tertiary nutrient removal; including species selection, biomass concentration, treatment period and lighting; with recommendations for optimal performance. These recommendations are then applied to the design and operation of an immobilised bioreactor (IBR) to understand the key design and operating components that influence the overall economic viability. In doing so, the potential for an IBR to be economically viable, within the next decade, in comparison to traditional approaches are discussed.

The present study deals with the use of fiberglass reinforced polymer bars (GFRP) as a replacement for the common steel of a reinforced concrete circular pile, in order to avoid the corrosion of durability of reinforcing bars and thus improve them. The comparative analysis was carried out between a pile reinforced with GFRP and another with steel, where the ductility was evaluated by obtaining moment-curvature diagram. As a result, said idealized moment-curvature diagrams and ductility indices are presented, concluding the ductility of the section reinforced with GFRP in 20% more than that of steel.

Orientador: Aguinaldo Robinson de Souza / Coorientador: Valdecir Farias Ximenes / Banca: Nelson Henrique Morgon / Banca: Ignez Caracelli / Resumo: A Albumina do Soro Humano (HSA) desempenha um papel importante no transporte de substâncias com propriedades farmacológicas devido a sua alta concentração e especificidade plasmática, colocando-a como uma das proteínas fundamentais responsáveis pela implicação farmacocinética dos fármacos. O derivado de aminoácido dansilglicina (DanGly) é um marcador fluorescente específico para o sítio II na HSA. Além disso, ao se ligar à proteína, a DanGly adquire quiralidade, uma característica que também pode ser usada para caracterizar o sítio de ligação de novos compostos na HSA. Este trabalho teve como objetivo elucidar a indução de quiralidade na DanGly por sua ligação com a HSA. Os espectros de Dicroísmo Circular Eletrônico (ECD) da DanGly (100 μM) na ausência ou presença de HSA (30 μM) em solução fosfato de sódio 50 mM em pH 7,0 foram obtidos num espectropolarímetro Jasco J-815 a 25o C com uma resolução de 1 nm numa velocidade de 50 nm/min. Os ECDs teóricos foram simulados usando a abordagem da Teoria do Funcional da Densidade (DFT) com os funcionais híbridos B3LYP e CAM-B3LYP no conjunto de bases 6-311 ++ G (2d, p) e o Modelo de Solvação baseado em Densidade (SMD) para os solventes etanol, metanol, acetonitrilo, água e tetra-hidrofurano; os cálculos foram realizados com o programa Gaussian09. A formação do complexo DanGly-HSA em tampão resultou no aparecimento de um espectro positivo de ECD centrado em 346 nm. Considerando que o sinal do ICD deve surgir a partir de uma conformação ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Human serum albumin (HSA) plays an important role in the transport of substances with pharmacological properties due to their high plasma concentration and specificity, placing it as the fundamental protein responsible for the pharmacokinetic implication of the drugs. The dansylglycine amino acid derivative (DanGly) is a fluorescent marker specific for the II site on the HSA. In addition, when binding to the protein, DanGly acquires chirality, a feature that can also be used to characterize the binding site of new compounds in albumin. This work aimed to elucidate the induction of chirality in the DanGly by its bonding to the HSA. Experimental Electronic Circular Dichroism (ECD) spectra of DanGly (100 μM) in the absence or presence of HSA (30 μM) in 50 mM sodium phosphate buffer pH 7.0 were obtained in a Jasco J-815 spectropolarimeter at 25o C. The spectra were obtained with a resolution of 1 nm and a scanning speed of 50 nm/min. The theoretical ECDs were simulated using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) approach with the hybrid functional B3LYP and CAM-B3LYP in the base set 6- 311 ++ G (2d, p) and the implicit Solvation Model based on Density (SMD) for the solvents ethanol, methanol, acetonitrile, water and tetrahydrofuran; the calculations were performed with the Gaussian09 program. The DanGly -HSA complex formation in buffer resulted in the appearance of a positive ECD spectrum centered at 346 nm. Considering that the ICD signal should arise from a chiral conformation of... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: Valdecir Faria Ximenes / Banca: Rodrigo Cardoso de Oliveira / Banca: Marinonio Lopes Cornelio / Banca: Paulo Noronha Lisboa Filho / Banca: Aguinaldo Robinson de Souza / Resumo: A proteína presente no plasma sanguíneo e conhecida como albumina humana possui inúmeras funções fisiológicas e propriedades como o transporte de fármacos e metabólitos na corrente sanguínea. Neste sentido, quando se estuda as características farmacocinéticas de um novo fármaco, entre as propriedades estudadas, busca-se elucidar a capacidade de ligação do mesmo na albumina e caracterizar o sítio de ligação da mesma. Neste projeto, estudamos as características espectroscópicas e biofísicas do corante vermelho Congo (VC) como potencial sonda para caracterização dos sítios de ligação da albumina e caracterização de agregados amiloidais. Os ensaios de supressão de fluorescência e dicroísmo circular induzido (ICD) revelaram uma forte associação entre VC e a albumina de soro bovina (BSA). Ensaios de deslocamento de sondas fluorescentes e alteração do espectro de ICD revelaram que o corante VC pode se ligar nos sitios I e II da BSA. Agregados proteicos com características de fibrilas amiloidais foram preparados por aquecimento da BSA a 70°C e caracterizados por fluorescência de tioflavina-T e espalhamento de luz Rayleigh. Observamos um deslocamento no sinal de ICD do VC ligado aos agregados. A monitoração do sinal de ICD em função do aumento de temperatura revelou uma típica curva de alteração de fase da proteína. Considerando que, quando presente, um sinal de ICD pode ser bastante específico e não sujeito às influências espectrais dos compostos presentes, propomos que esta técnica ... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The protein present in blood plasma and known as human albumin has countless physiological functions, including transporting drugs and metabolites in the bloodstream. In this regard, when studying pharmacokinetic characteristics of a new drug, between the properties studied, it is common to elucidate its binding capacity in albumin and to characterize the binding site of the drug. In this project, we studied the spectroscopic and biophysical characteristics of Congo Red (CR) dye as a potential probe to characterize the albumin binding sites and amyloid aggregates. The fluorescence quenching tests and induced circular dichroism (ICD) showed a strong association between CR and bovine serum albumin (BSA). Displacement tests of fluorescent probes and change in the ICD spectrum revealed that the CR dye may bind to sites I and II of BSA. Protein aggregates with features of amyloid fibrils were prepared by heating the BSA at 70 °C and characterized by thioflavinT fluorescence and Rayleigh light scattering. We observed a shift in the ICD signal CR connected to the aggregates. When monitoring the ICD signal as a function of temperature, a typical phase change curve was obtained. Considering that, when present, an ICD can be a quite specific signal and not subject to spectral influences of the compounds, we proposed that this spectroscopic technique could be used to aid in the elucidation of the binding sites of the albumin and for the studies of the formation of amyloid aggregates in ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Magíster en Gestión y Dirección de Empresas / El presente trabajo de tesis, expone el desarrollo de un emprendimiento tecnológico basado en economía circular, enfocándose en la reutilización de artículos de segunda mano, de cualquier categoría, ubicados en la Región Metropolitana. Hoy en día, existe un gran número de personas que poseen artículos que ya no utilizan, y ya sea por desuso, o por renovación, necesitan deshacerse del antiguo. Este negocio logra encontrar a una contraparte interesada, permitiendo segmentar por diferentes categorías, por ejemplo, georreferenciación, y poder concretar el traspaso del artículo. Por otro lado, se encuentran personas que desean adquirir artículos usados a un escaso valor. Este negocio tiene como objetivo principal la explotación de la economía circular en Chile. Por tal motivo, no se realiza una compraventa del artículo, es decir, no existe una transferencia monetaria entre ambos usuarios, sólo se realiza un cobro por transacción único dependiendo de la categoría del artículo, al usuario que recibe. La cual es sumamente inferior al valor real del artículo usado. De esta forma, incentivando el desuso de artículos, regalándolo a personas que le puedan dar un mejor uso que el actual. El anhelo es generar una consciencia social, y generar una propuesta de valor única en el mercado, considerando todos los factores críticos, y donde con el simple hecho de subir un artículo a esta plataforma, permita darle una mano a otra persona que realmente lo necesite. Este plan de negocios establece un marco conceptual con un fuerte contenido en la investigación de mercado, análisis del mercado, plan de marketing y factibilidad financiera, encontrando la óptima estrategia de negocios que permita alcanzar los resultados esperados. La metodología que se desarrolla consta de 10 etapas cuyo análisis permitirá cubrir todas las dimensiones necesarias para desarrollar el análisis del plan del negocio en su totalidad. Se realiza una encuesta en el estudio de mercado en donde se logra establecer que existe un interés por regalar artículos en vez de venderlos. En base a estos resultados, se realiza una estimación de demanda y un mercado objetivo. Finalmente, considerando los supuestos de crecimientos planteados en este trabajo, se realiza una evaluación económica y análisis de sensibilidad en base a distintos escenarios proyectados, en donde con el escenario escogido se obtiene un VPN de 57 Millones CLP, y una tasa interna de retorno de la inversión de 69% con un payback de 3 años. Dicho lo anterior, se puede afirmar la factibilidad económica de este proyecto.

In (J Graph Theory 33 (2000), 14-24), Hell and Zhu proved that if a series-parallel graph G has girth at least 2⌊(3k-1)/2⌋, then χc(G)≤4k/(2k-1). In (J Graph Theory 33 (2000), 185-198), Chien and Zhu proved that the girth condition given in (J Graph Theory 33 (2000), 14-24) is sharp. Short proofs of both results are given in this note.

ZNF292 is a complex protein of ≈3000 amino acids with 16 zinc finger DNA binding domains. First discovered as a Growth Hormone (GH) transcription activator, ZNF292 was then found to play a role in the initiation of certain cancers, in specific autism spectrum disorder types, and to produce high levels of unique circular RNAs (circRNAs). In the rat, we have found that ZNF292 circRNAs are present in multiple related structures containing differing combinations of exons 1-7, thus increasing in sizes like “babushka” or nested Russian dolls. To begin to understand the functions of these ZNF292 circRNAs, we assayed expression in four rat MtT cell lines that model stages of pituitary somatotroph development. These cell lines have specific GH levels: MtT/E are empty: MtT/Se have estrogen stimulated GH expression; MtT/SM somatomammotrophs have both GH and PRL; and MtT/S somatotrophs produce only GH. Rat GH3 somatomammotroph cells were also assayed for comparison. Thus, the defined stages of pituitary development in these cells are an excellent model for evaluating linear or circular ZNF292 RNA changes. All cell lines were grown according to standard conditions, then harvested and total RNA was extracted (RNeasy kit, Qiagen) and used in qRT-PCR assays where both RT and PCR were performed in each well (Luna kit, NEB). Primers were designed in MacVector: RPL19 as a normalization control, and GH, linear, and circular ZNF292 primers targeted selected exons. Standards for quantitation used purified total rat RNA (ThermoFisher). After qRT-PCR, all data was normalized to the amount of RPL19 in each sample, then average RNA levels calculated for each cell line using Excel and GraphPad Prizm. We found that GH RNA rose from 0% in MtT/E and MtT/Se cells to 157% in MtT/SM and 275% in MtT/S cells. Linear ZNF292 was increased to 219% in MtT/Se cells, then declined to 110% in MtT/S and 37% in MtT/SM cells. Circular ZNF292 was expressed in MtT/E cells at 26%, increased to 184% in MtT/Se cells and fell to ≈100% in MtT/SM and MtT/S cells. GH3 cell expression was similar in pattern to MtT/SM cells but reduced in relative abundance. Statistical analysis with two-way ANOVA indicated significant differences. First, these data confirmed that GH RNA levels correlate with stages of somatotroph differentiation in these cell lines. Second, ZNF292 linear RNA expression increases prior to the onset of GH expression, agreeing with the function of linear ZNF292 in initiating GH transcription. Third, ZNF292 circRNAs have a developmental pattern of expression that is higher in somatomammotroph cells. Expression of other RNAs central to pituitary development will be used to evaluate whether ZNF292 circRNA levels specifically relate to GH status or another criterion of cellular differentiation.

No description available.

El sector de los plásticos está experimentando un importante cambio de dirección hacia la sostenibilidad y la innovación. El modelo de Economía Circular como alternativa al modelo tradicional de producción, uso y vertido está generando un gran impacto en nuestra sociedad. La recuperación y reciclaje de materiales se ha convertido en una etapa importante dentro del sector y se prevé que la demanda de productos reciclados aumente en los próximos años. Sin embargo, el sector del reciclaje no está preparado para cumplir la creciente demanda, sobre todo, en cuanto a la calidad de los materiales. En esta tesis se han estudiado los métodos de tratamiento de residuos plásticos desde tres puntos de vista: medioambiental, tecnológico y calidad del producto final. Se ha dedicado un capítulo de la tesis para profundizar en cada uno de estos temas. Para estudiar el impacto medioambiental se ha realizado un análisis de ciclo de vida comparativo entre un proceso de reciclaje innovador alineado con los principios de la Economía Circular y dos métodos de tratamiento de residuos tradicionales. Desde el punto de vista tecnológico, se ha estudiado el proceso de eliminación de agua durante el reciclaje de plásticos flexibles con el objetivo de optimizar parámetros y reducir el consumo de energía. Por último, se llevado a cabo un estudio de las sustancias orgánicas semivolátiles presentes en plásticos reciclados, ya que éstas pueden suponer un riesgo para la salud de los consumidores si se utilizan en aplicaciones de alto valor añadido. Además, se ha realizado un estudio exhaustivo del estado del arte de los sistemas de gestión de residuos plásticos, prestando especial atención a los plásticos flexibles debido a que su tasa de reciclaje se encuentra por debajo de los plásticos rígidos. Como resultado se han identificado los puntos débiles y se han marcado directrices para impulsar la transición hacia la Economía Circular.